Kosher Italian restaurant in Winnipeg vandalised

'Jew' spray-painted on windows, parking lot of Jewish-owned restaurant in second incident so far this year.

Marcy Oster/JTA, 05/02/19 17:51

Definition of anti-Semitism

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A kosher Italian restaurant in Winnipeg in central Canada was vandalized with anti-Semitic graffiti for the second time in several weeks.

The word “Jew” was spray-painted on the windows and in the parking lot of the BerMax Caffe and Bistro. The Orthodox Jewish owners of the restaurant, which serves both Italian and Middle Eastern dishes, reported the vandalism to police on Friday morning, according to the Canadian Broadcast Corporation.

Anti-Semitic graffiti was spray-painted on the restaurant building a few weeks ago, and there have been a several acts of vandalism since the restaurant opened in 2014, including egging, breaking and entering, and a smashed window, according to the CBC.

The new vandalism is being investigated by police as a hate crime, according to the report.

“Our family came to Canada to be part of the unique Canadian society, where we can practice our Jewish tradition as we did for thousands of years, and bring our share to the general community as well as bring our contribution to Canadian society,” Maxim Berent, owner of the café, wrote in an email to the CBC.